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BBC turns down girl’s offer to replace Big Ben chimes

The BBC editor told the 8-year-old girl it would probably be ‘quite a task for you’ to handle the BBC bongs.

The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Big Ben bell, at the Houses of Parliament is seen in this file photo from April 2016. A school girl's offer to replace Big Ben's familiar chimes when the London landmark is silenced for repairs has received a gentle rebuff from the BBC on Monday. (Matt Dunham / AP)

By Associated Press

Mon., Dec. 19, 2016

LONDON—The BBC has gently turned down a schoolgirl’s offer to replace Big Ben’s familiar chimes when the London landmark is silenced for repairs.

BBC editor Roger Sawyer told 8-year-old Phoebe Hanson it would probably be too much work for such a young girl.

The BBC said Monday that Hanson wrote to the Radio 4 p.m. program after hearing that the chimes that mark the time on BBC programs would fall silent for the first period of a planned three-year renovation of the clock tower.

In the letter, she said she could hum the chimes and play her own instruments, recording everything on her own microphone for use on the air.

Sawyer said in his letter that it would be “quite a task for you” to handle the BBC bongs: “You’d have to rush in after school each day,” he said.

Article Continued Below

The editor said Hanson “has a great future” because she’s shown she can solve problems in a freethinking way.

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